Journey to Heaven II: The Journey Continues
by Loki Ice
Summary: Alexei, Anatasia, and Cassandra now are the tellers of the story, as they follow in their parents' footsteps to find God and make their friendship grow as trials arise and the race of life is again run by these three Christians.  Alexei/Ana Russia/Alaska
1. Chapter 1

_Loki_

"Breathe honey, breathe…" I said, squeezing Autumn's hand, feeling nervousness rise within me.

It's two in the morning.

June 11th.

And our baby is finally on the way.

Autumn threw her head back and forth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to escape the pain.

Suddenly, a loud thunder clap jolted the room, and finally, a baby's cry filled the air.

My eyes welled with tears.

I was finally a father.

"It's a girl," the doctor smiled, as he handed me the fresh-from-God, wailing bundle.

"Shh, shh," I crooned to the little girl. My little girl. "It's okay precious…"

I leaned down next to Autumn and we held our baby, crying happy tears as the lightning and thunder raged outside.


	2. Chapter 2

_17 years later_

_Alexei_

My name is Alexei.

Alexei Ivanovich Braginski.

I am 17 years old today.

What a wonderful life I've had…everything is such a blessing.

And now here I sit, praying fervently, waiting for her to open her eyes.

Why won't she open her eyes?

Won't she come back?

"Ana…Anastasia…please…пожалуйста, приходите домой ..."


	3. Chapter 3

_Cassandra_

I am Cassandra.

Cassandra Hope Landers.

I am 16 years old today.

_How funny it is that we all share June 11__th__ as a birthday…_

I drove down the street, my windshield wipers working overtime to keep the pouring rain out of the way as the June gloom skies erupted with flashing lightning and roaring thunder.

I was almost to the hospital.

I quickly changed lanes and turned down Maple Street, then onto Oak, where I pulled into the parking lot and drove around, circling, looking for a space.

I finally found one and jumped out of the car, locking it and running through the rain, mentally scolding myself for not grabbing an umbrella.

I entered through the automatic doors and my senses were assaulted with the smell of antiseptic and hope. I pressed the button for the elevator and quietly waited, pulling my scarf a bit tighter. The elevator dinged and the light went out as the metal door slid open and I stepped aside as a young child was wheeled out. He looked so happy to be finally going home, home to comfort and peace, not a scary place full of needles, beeping machines, and the sound of crying.

I knew how he felt.

I entered the elevator and pressed the button numbered "5".

The whir of cables filled the small space as the elevator ascended. I exited and walked down the hallway to the receptionist's desk.

"Hi, I'm here to see Anastasia Braginski," I smiled.

She gave me a bracelet and smiled warmly back.

"Room 325," she said, pointing to the back.

I quietly walked down the dim corridor, counting the numbers in my head.

I found the number, and stood outside for a moment, gathering my courage.

I then turned the knob and pushed the heavy door open.

Alexei looked up from his twin sister and released her hand.

He stood, trying hard to smile, but burst into tears.

I held him, embraced him, and let him lay his head on my shoulder as the rain drummed against the window.


	4. Chapter 4

_Alexei_

My mom had a normal pregnancy with me and Anastasia.

We were healthy, according to the doctors, forming normally inside my mom's ever-growing belly.

My parents had been thrilled when they had learned we were to be twins, a boy and girl, their exact dream.

They praised God every day of the nine, long months and had our names picked out from the start.

Alexei: defender of man.

Anastasia: resurrection.

June 11th dawned and my mom was in labor, working hard, sweating vigorously.

My dad was by her side through it all, encouraging her, kissing away her tears, telling her it would be all right.

At four in the morning, I was born and I was pronounced completely healthy, strong, and handsome.

Then, two minutes later, Ana was born.

But she wasn't safe.

Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her fragile neck.

The doctors worked quickly and managed to untangle it.

But Ana still wasn't breathing.

They quickly wheeled her in for surgery and x-rays were taken.

Ana was found to have a weak heart, and with the umbilical cord added to the mix, she just couldn't breathe.

She was brought back to life though, by God's grace, and her first cry rang in my parents' ears.

Ana was put in special care and a week later, we and my mother, were released.

Ana grew stronger under the doctors' supervision, but ultimately, under God's loving gaze.

Ana and I got along beautifully, big brother and little sister, defending each other, thriving off each other's happiness, and cuddling with each other in sadness. I allowed her to dress me up in pink skirts and large, fluffy bows. I played with her dolls, and pushed her on the swings. I kissed her boo-boos from falling down on the sweltering asphalt, hugged her sadness away, and tickled her happiness through the roof.

Overall, we had a great, wonderful, and spectacular childhood, full of dizzy summer days playing with pinwheels, autumn afternoons spent hiding and jumping into huge piles of leaves, and winter evenings snuggled together with our parents, being told how much we were loved, by them and God, and what a blessing we both were.

Years upon years passed and we entered Senior year together, side by side, and stronger than ever.

But Anastasia's strength lies in her emotions.

Not in her physical strength.

Heart problems popped up here and there.

Talk of heart transplants.

Hushed conversations between my parents in the night.

My mom trying her best to hide her smudged makeup and red eyes from all the tears.

Until…it all came crashing down.

An ambulance's siren screamed and pierced through the classrooms…and my heart.

Ana was wheeled out from her class on a stretcher, unconscious, not breathing.

I screamed and begged to go with her in the ambulance, but to no avail.

I was immediately released from school and drove to the hospital, my heart racing, my mind in a wreck.

I ran into the ER, where I was met by my distraught, crying parents.

I burst into tears and was pulled into their embrace, and we all whispered prayers.

Cassandra and her parents soon arrived, comforting us all, praying too, spilling their tears.

A doctor finally came to tell us the news.

Ana had suffered from a heart attack, and her heart had immediately shut down. They had managed to resuscitate her in the ambulance, but that wasn't enough to keep her alive. Upon reaching the ER, they tried to stabilize her heart, and managed to succeed.

But Ana wouldn't survive on just that.

She needed a heart transplant.

And fast.


	5. Chapter 5

_Cassandra_

I lightly touched Ana's pale cheek and stroked her auburn hair.

Her life support machine beeped quietly and the rhythmic whoosh of her oxygen mask was all that filled the silent bubble of the hospital room.

Alexei had fallen asleep on the other side of Ana's bed, still holding her hand and breathing peacefully.

The lullaby of the rain still played as the droplets clicked on the glass of the window, which contained a dreary display of a thick, gray blanket of cloud adorned with occasional lightning flashes and muted thunder rumbles.

Ana had to be all right…I loved her like she was my own sister.

And Alexei like my brother.

I am an only child.

Born to a loving mother and an adoring father, a blessed girl with a fiery spirit and a caring heart.

Made by God.

One of His masterpieces.

Alexei stirred lightly and I reached over to gently stroke his hair.

He quieted from my touch and squeezed Ana's hand.

We were all right.

We were okay.

We were safe.


	6. Chapter 6

_Cassandra_

June 20th dawned.

The day of my departure.

As a birthday gift and an end-of-high-school celebration, my parents had bought me a week-long trip to Iceland, my dream vacation.

I was super excited and couldn't stop giggling and smiling as I packed my bags.

Then Anastasia had her heart attack on the 9th, a week before graduation, and two days before her 17th birthday.

She still was lying in the hospital, unconscious, on the morning of June 20th, as I drove down to the airport.

The Braginski's and my parents had been searching for someone who had passed away, donated their organs, and whose heart was compatible with Ana.

So far, no luck.

I wanted to stay with Alexei, but the adults and he encouraged me to go on the trip I had so long awaited.

They assured me everything would be fine.

And so, with an exchange of hugs, kisses, and "I love you's", I had set off.

Leaving my life behind me.


	7. Chapter 7

_Alexei_

A heart for Ana still had not been found and we were getting desperate.

We prayed constantly, asking God for His guidance and blessing.

I went ahead with graduation day, but couldn't stay for the after party, knowing I would just cry from all the sympathy.

I spent my days after graduation by Ana's bedside, praying, crying, and sleeping if I could.

I went for lonely walks in the forest to clear my head, and let my parents comfort me.

Cassie was a major blessing, staying with me in the hospital, comforting me, soothing me as I slept, battling nightmares.

June 20th came and Cassie left for Iceland, but not before wanting to postpone the trip to stay with me, Ana, and our parents to help find a heart for Ana.

But she deserved to go, and needed to get out of the hospital too.

So she hugged and kissed her and my parents and tenderly gazed into my eyes, promising she would return soon, safe and sound, and gently kissed me on the cheek.

Little did I know that that would be the last time I would see her.

Alive.


	8. Chapter 8

_Alexei_

Ambulances.

The footage of people screaming, crying, calling for their loved ones.

The video of the fire, the burning plane, smashed to nothing.

The reports of how many were dead, how many were alive.

Who was dead.

Who was alive.

The bodies that had been found, or the ones that had been burned, destroyed completely.

Faces flashed across the screen, under the heading "Deceased".

Until the heart-shattering shock that made her parents wail, my parents weep, and me vomit.

Cassandra Hope Lander's face appeared on the screen.

Her body had been found.


	9. Chapter 9

_Alexei_

Cassie's body had amazingly survived the crash, not a scratch.

But she hadn't survived the impact.

She hit her head when her body had been ejected from her seat, even despite the seatbelt.

Someone had pulled her from the plane, thinking she was still alive.

Maybe she had been.

We'll never know.

But we do know this…

Her heart.

Even if she is dead, her soul in Heaven, so peaceful, her heart will live on.

Beating.

Inside my sister.


	10. Chapter 10

_Alexei_

Images of bloody, maimed bodies lying inside the deep, gaping graves.

Screams of helpless children, Cassie's cry echoing throughout the hollow nightmare.

I couldn't escape.

All I could do was sit, waiting for the plane to collide.

Wait to die.

Helpless, wingless, flightless.

Already dead.

Already cold.

Already lost in the sea of sorrow and tears that filled my eyes and left me exhausted, cast out to lose the battle between me and my heavy lids, as I slipped into the abyss of sleep, and was eclipsed in evil hallucinations.


	11. Chapter 11

_Alexei_

The funeral was held, gloomy, overcast, and full of weeping and mournful prayers.

Cassie's coffin was pulled to her grave by a couple of pure-white horses, their hooves clip-clopping on the glinting grey cobblestones, up through the green hills of the cemetery.

Autumn and Loki were beside themselves with grief.

Together, the two mourning parents released a white dove, symbolizing the flight and departure of Cassie's soul up to Heaven, where she would eternally be, waiting for us to one day join her.

I wept as did my parents, feeling the mutual grief of losing a child too, for Cassie was like their own daughter, and they loved her like they loved Ana and me.

The skies opened, and rain again began to descend, misting over all, bringing freshness to the earth as we all withdrew back to the church, leaving Cassie to her final resting place.


	12. Chapter 12

_Alexei_

I was lost in another nightmare.

Wandering through a twisty labyrinth, full of thick fog and sickly whisperings.

Suddenly, at the end of a long row between two stone hedges, a light appeared, beckoning me through the fog.

I started to run to it, attracted to it, wanting its beams to guide me, give me hope.

It seemed to only pull farther away as I ran towards it.

My body screamed and I gasped, desperately trying to reach my destination.

But when I finally reached the light, it had died, and in its place were two open graves.

In one lay Cassie.

In the other…lie Anastasia.


	13. Chapter 13

_Alexei_

I woke up screaming and crying, beside myself with grief and fear.

My mom ran in and wrapped me in her arms, rocking me as if I was still five years old, shushing me and kissing away my tears.

"Mom…Mom…Ana…she can't be dead," I finally managed through my tears.

"No Alexei," my mother replied softly, fighting off her own tears. "You're okay, you're okay…shh…it was only a nightmare."

Only a nightmare.


	14. Chapter 14

_Alexei_

The day had arrived.

July 1st.

The day of the transplant.

My parents and I kissed and prayed over a still seemingly lifeless Anastasia.

And then she was taken.

Wheeled into the surgery room.

Her heartbeat still shown on the screen.

Falling ever so slowly.


	15. Chapter 15

_Alexei_

Doctors running through the corridors.

A defibrillator wheeled into Ana's room.

Counting.

Electric shocks.

The line still dead.

Unmoving.

"ANA!" I screamed through the glass. "ANA, PLEASE, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"

More shocks.

More counts.

Until the line moved.

Ana was back.

I sank to the floor and all went black.


	16. Chapter 16

_Alexei_

I am falling.

Floating.

In pitch black, drifting, light as a feather.

I can't see anything.

Not a light.

Not a shadow.

Nothing.

Suddenly, the picture changes, and I am lying on my bed, the window open.

The drapes are being lightly blown by the night breeze, a star-studded sky glittering in the dusk.

I gaze out the window, tracing patterns in the sky with my finger, like I always did when I was younger, until I am aware of a figure seated next to me.

I jump.

Then my eyes focus.

And widen.

"C-….Cassie?" I whisper. "What are you doing her-?"

Cassie put a finger to my lips.

She smiled, the stars reflecting in her big, fawn-like eyes.

A resemblance to Ana briefly passed over her face in the moonlight, but quickly faded.

"Alexei…I don't have much time. But I wanted to let you know that…my heart…Ana…"

She quieted.

Her finger slid off my lips.

I blinked and caught her gaze, letting myself sink into the deep pools of her eyes.

"What Cassie? What about her…your heart?" I whispered.

Cassie crawled onto the windowsill and faced me, smiling sadly.

She gently placed a hand over where her heart would be and said:

"My heart shall beat stronger than ever within Anastasia. Please don't tell anyone about this dream…just sleep peacefully…Goodbye Alexei…I will always love you."

The stars and pink flower petals from the cherry blossom tree in my front yard suddenly encircled and eclipsed her.

She vanished, silent as snow falling on the earth.

And my eyes flew open.


	17. Chapter 17

_Alexei_

"Alexei…? Wake up darling…can you hear me?"

My mother's voice.

I blinked and slowly sat up.

I was lying across a cot in Ana's hospital room.

"M-Mom? What happened?" I asked shakily, the remains of the dream replaying in my head.

"You fainted when they were trying to bring Anastasia back…" my mom said quietly.

Ana.

"Mom! Is she okay? She came back to life…I saw the line…Cassie's heart…"

I felt breathless and dizzy and confused.

My mom gently took my hand, tears in her eyes.

"Alexei…the surgery was successful…she's going to make it. Ana is going to live."


	18. Chapter 18

_Anastasia_

_4 years later_

How beautiful the night is…so sparkly and carefree. Breezy and full of sweet whispers, beckoning you to dance in the opal gleam of the moon.

But I didn't wish to dance.

I sat in the frosty grass on a lovely autumn evening, blowing into my mittens to keep my hands warm.

I pulled my scarf a little tighter and sighed, wiping away my tears.

"So, Cassie, life is pretty much back to normal…I'm okay and so is Alexei and Mom and Dad. Everything just seems…so much different. Life is now so much more precious and fragile to me…And now with this little one on the way…"

I looked down at my round tummy, and smiled lovingly.

"I wish you could meet him Cass…Peter and I couldn't be happier together…and we can't wait for the baby to come either…I know you would adore my baby Cassie…"

Tears began to choke me, and I wept bitterly.

The stars quietly glinted and I wished for one to descend, to use its beams to dry up my tears.

"I love you Cassandra Hope…I always will."

I crossed my heart and smiled.

Because now it beat for three.

Me.

My baby.

And Cassie.


	19. Chapter 19

_Alexei_

Anastasia's baby was born safely on April 31st.

A healthy, beautiful baby girl.

With tears in both Peter and Ana's eyes, they cradled their baby and proudly announced her name.

Cassandra Hope Romanov.

I let my tears overflow in salty streams down my cheeks as I kissed the little girl on her forehead.

And I knew Cassie would do just the same.


	20. Chapter 20

_Anastasia's Letter_

Dear Cassie,

I know you are smiling down from Heaven upon me and my family.

My own little Cassandra.

And now we have Nicholas.

I love them so much…my own little ones to hold and cherish.

To watch grow up.

Cassie, I love and miss you so much, and I know you're in a much better place, surrounded by light, peace, and love.

And one day, I will join you Cassie.

Alexei…Peter…Mom…Dad…Autumn…Loki…and me and my little ones.

All of us.

Together.

Worshipping Him for eternity.

What a joy and a promise to have bestowed upon us.

We all love you Cassandra Hope Landers.

And we will see you again.

_Cross my heart._

_~The End~_


End file.
